Dhaka — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is distributing silos and cattle feed to vulnerable livestock families across five districts of Jamuna River basin to mitigate the impacts of monsoon floods.

The distribution is part of the project Protecting Livelihoods Assets through Anticipatory Actions in Flood Prone Communities in Northern Bangladesh (Jamuna). The initiative is funded by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and is being implemented in close collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) of Government of Bangladesh. The project aims to safeguard livelihoods, reducing the adverse effects of climate-related disasters on vulnerable communities and enhancing resilience of the communities. As part of the project FAO, with the budget of nearly USD 600 000, is distributing silos for the safe storage of food grains, seeds, clean water and other valuable assets during the monsoon flood and 50 kilograms of ruminant concentrated feed to 15 110 vulnerable farming households engaged in livestock production.

Cattle farmers face significant challenges during and after floods as grazing lands are inundated and stored feed is often destroyed, leading to a crisis in cattle feed availability and a consequent loss of their livelihoods. The animals frequently fall sick after consuming flood-contaminated forage or due to the lack of available feed in local markets, which small producers often cannot access. This lack of alternatives usually forces farmers to sell their livestock or other assets. Often, adoption of these negative coping strategies and decapitalization irreversibly reduces future productivity and human capital formation. Distributing silos and cattle feed is crucial in such times, as it ensures a continuous supply of nutrition for the animals. This helps farmers sustain their livestock’s health and productivity, making them more resilient to future disasters.

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